"Armenia does not renounce its revanchist aspirations" Expert opinions on Caliber.Az

In his latest article, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asserts, "Threats to the security of the Republic of Armenia are generated precisely in Azerbaijan." This article can be seen as an attempt to whitewash Armenia's rapid militarization and to find those to blame on the other side of the conditional border. In other words, the familiar Armenian tactic has been employed again – countering Baku's concerns with reciprocal accusations.

In an interview with a Caliber.Az correspondent, Israeli publicist and military expert Peter Lukimson noted that he tends to see some positive aspects in Armenia's position. In his view, part of the Armenian leadership, particularly Pashinyan, has come to terms with the need to abandon claims on Karabakh and is nonetheless inclined toward normalizing relations with Azerbaijan. However, they have not entirely abandoned their favoured rhetoric and approaches.

"Armenia needs this normalization much more than Azerbaijan. The problem, however, is that, judging by social media posts, the majority of Armenia's population has not come to terms with this idea and remains obsessed with revanchist notions. Yes, Pashinyan demonizes Azerbaijan—that's true. And the fact that he's signalling to his sponsors that there is a military threat is also evident. But it's equally important for him to convey to his own people that, in this situation, it is better to make peace and secure themselves. I believe that, despite the sometimes peculiar ways in which it manifests, this desire is still present in Pashinyan's actions," states Lukimson.

According to Russian political analyst and editor-in-chief of the portal Poistini, Ruslan Aysin, Pashinyan's article seeks to create confusion because Armenia has not renounced its revanchist ambitions or attempts to regain control over Karabakh. This, he argues, can only be achieved through militarization, by accumulating the necessary military and political resources to provoke some kind of incident.

"That is why Armenia is urgently trying to strengthen its military capabilities, and those who are arming Armenia likely have their own plans for the region. Armenia has specific patrons and curators who seek to bolster its power and, correspondingly, weaken Azerbaijan in some way

To achieve this, various methods and mechanisms are being employed: diplomatic, economic, and even military. Through Armenia, numerous media, expert services, and platforms are involved, unfairly criticizing Baku. Yet, for some reason, all these experts seem to have overlooked the sensational speech by Armenia's first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who openly called for murder, genocide, and looting of the Azerbaijani population. Strangely, this fascist, Nazi-like statement has not caused any uproar. This is alarming; it forces one to reconsider and recognize that there is a one-sided game at play here, a blatant attempt to discredit Azerbaijan," concluded Aysin.